Riley a bright spot for Alabama A&M softball team

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Things haven't worked out the way Jasmin Riley planned.

While she has thrived on the diamond during her two seasons for the Alabama A&M softball team, the Bulldogs have struggled mightily.

But Riley, who turned down offers from Mississippi Valley State, Alcorn State and Texas Southern to sign with A&M, is keeping the faith.

"I know Mississippi Valley and Alcorn State were good and I probably could have gotten a ring my first year, but I decided to try something different," said Riley, who starts at third base for the Bulldogs. "I decided to step outside the box and go to a program that I could help turn around and lead to a championship."

A&M is far from being a contender for the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship, but not because Riley hasn't lived up to expectations.

A first-team All-SWAC selection last year as a freshman when she batted .455 with four homers and 25 RBI, Riley is playing even better this season.

She currently leads the league in homers (9) and slugging percentage (.826), is ninth with 27 RBI and is just outside the top-10 in batting with a robust .391 average.

"Individually, I've had a good year, but I wish my team would get on board a little more," said Riley, who prepped at Southwest Dekalb in Atlanta. "I've got two more years to play and we're going to get to where I want us to be before I leave. We've got a good recruiting class coming in and next year we're going to be pretty good."

While the Bulldogs have struggled, A&M (3-24, 3-11) can still advance to the SWAC Tournament by beating Alabama State (8-30, 4-10) today and Saturday in Montgomery. A&M needs to win the series to reach the postseason.

"We're ready," Riley said. "We've been talking about it a lot."

A&M assistant coach Josh Schultz said the sky is the limit for Riley.

"She's a gifted hitter," Schultz said. "Between baseball and softball, she's probably one of the best hitters I've ever coached, including guys that have gone on and gotten paid to play baseball."

Schultz says Riley could be the best player in the SWAC before her career is over.

"That's where she needs to have her sights set because she has that kind of talent," he said. "She has that kind of potential. Coming off of last year's season, she had some pretty lofty goals and she's getting close to them. If she continues to work, she can put herself in position to be the Player of the Year in this league."